PAGE 18, WHIT3Y FREE PRES. WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 13 1988 SPORTS Four *,Whitby teams skate f.or gold iin Buffaý lo tliis weeken By BRYCE COOPER Although ice hockey, ringette and other wlnter sports are well mto their semsons, precisio'n skating is just beginnlng. Four teams are travelling to Buf- falo, New York Jan. 15 and 16 to represent Whltby -in. the first com- petition of the new year., .Each teami is made Up of 20 to 30 skaters witb ýeach 'performmfg a routine of niîson skating displaying new and creative techniques. Whitby bas been quite successful in the past with the junior team,Tcee Crystals (ages 14 and up), winning the Canadian Precision Champion- ships last year for the third year in a row. Whitby is introducing a new team' titis year and dropping a very suc- cessful old one. Ice Fyre is Whit- by's new senior. precision team Taking on the pre-novice tfpam this year la Diane Cornelison, Cornelison has returned to precision coacblng' after taklng 4 years off to rais. a family.. ~je-novicé caliberba n proved. It bas become more corn- petitive,"t s1ays Cornelison who coached tlireey ears in Whitby prior to her time off. "They (the team) are doing very well and have really improved. I'm looking forward- to, the corn- petition,"1 says Cornelison who once performed with Stars on, Ice, a discontinued CTV television production. "IResults from this competition are not a good outlook for the rest of the year, " says Dalton., Air-born MIKE WOLF goes high into the air. during midget basketball action at Henry Street High Sehool last week. The midgets defeated Courtice 54-20' while thée junior team also won, beating Courtice 58-33. Free Press photo Novices win gold medal The Whitby novice ringette team finished off the yearý in grand style as they brougbt gold back from the Kitchener tournamnent held from Dec. 28 to 30. mhe Whitby team played two games during the opening day of the tournament, trouncing their competition thoroughly.. Game one saw Whitby beat St. Clemence 17-1. Jennifer Drumnmond was the big shooter with five goals, followed closely by Andrea Babony, who had four. Other Whitby scorers were Jennifer Henry, Sharolyn Wouters, Catie Challoner- and Susanne Wisdom with two goals each. In- game two, Whitby blasted a hapless Kitchener squad 24 to 0. Andrea Babony bit for six goals with Jennifer Henry and Sharolyn Wouters each counting five. Jen- nifer Druminond and Angela Poland- each had a pair while Crystal, Annis, Susanne Wisdom, Carrie Hatzehhoffer and Catie Challoner had singles. The. following day saw Whitby pitted against Waterloo and the girls once again showed their stuff, coming out 16-1 victors.-Jennifer.. Drummôfld picked tzp another four goals, Andrea Babony and Sharolyn Wouters each had a hat trick; Jennifer Henry and Kelly Corneal two goals with singles. going to Nicole Prout and Crystal Annis. Whitby defeated the team from Caladonia 10.to 4 in the champion- ship game for the. gold medal. Scoring in the winning effort were Andrea Babony with five, Jennifer Drummond 3, and Jennifer Henry, 2. Whitby's prowess didn't end with the start of a new year. On Jan. 3, the. girls beat Oshawa 6-0 courtesy of two goals each by Andrea Babony, Jennifer Henry and Jen- nifer Drummond. The followmng week on Jan. 10, it was Mariposa's turn to feel- Whit- by's wrath as tbey went down to a, 15-O defeat. Jennifer Henry scored five times with back up from Jen- nifer Drummond and Andrea Babony- with three goals each. Carrie Hatzelhoffer hit for two- goals, and Nicole Prout 'and Sharolyn Wotters each picked Up singles. Kelly Corneal accotmted f6r the shutout. CATHY DALTON The lce Angels, Whi tby's novice team (ages il to 14), placed second last year after winning first the two previous years. Whitby's prenmovice team, Tee Pixs (ages 7 to 11), do flot compete in the Canadian finals, however, they placed first last year in the. Eastern Ontario sectionals." Whitby also sponsors a masters team, Tee Ages (ages 25 and up), which is not as competitive but may make an appearance in Canadians in the near future. DEBBIE SMITH (ages 14 and up)l while they are discontinuing the junior team. There is littie difference between the two teams except that the se- nior team is larger with a minimumn of 24 skaters on the ice at one time and the program is four and hall minu-tes, haif a' minute longer than the junior program. "It was time for the girls to move on," says coach Cathy Dalton. "After winning Canadians three years in a row, they needed somnething to shoot for," explains Dalton who coached the team last year and has, been with Drecision for nine years. For novice coach Debbie Smith it is a rebuilding year.. "We had set goals earlier before I kniew where the teamn was. If we qualify for the. Canadians ll be pleased, " says Smith. For Smith it is a step Up from last year when she was the pre-novice coacht. "It's a bigger and more mature team," says Smith comparing her last year's team to the one she is coaching presently. DIANE CORNELISON "Anerican judges are looking for" the American standards which are more-marching, :Canadian stan. dards seemn to. b. a bit more in- novative," she says. However, tiis- not to stop the team fromn performin g.their best. "Thèy're always hungry to win,"I says Dalton. "As far as competitions go it's flot as important," says Smith. SEE PAGE 27 Teams outraged at Olympie selection Precision skating team ,l-nizers in Whitby and Laval,, Quebec are outraged at a decision to allow the Kitchener-Waterloo and Edmonton senior teams to skate in the.closing ceremonies of the. Calgary Winter Olympies. "lInstead of choosing the first place team they chose the second and fourtit place team," says Cheryle Jenson, chairperson for the Whitby Precision teams. Kit- chener-Waterloo placed second. at the Candian championships last year while Edmonton was fourth. Brian Pokar, CBC skating com- mentator, was» chosen to choreograph 'the. closing ceremonies for the. Olympies and attended the Canadian champion- ships to see who would best fit his program, says Jenson. He chose the KW Queens, and the Edmonton seniors, claiming they were ."the best representation of precision skating, " says Jenson. 1The Laval Pirouettes were first place champions, An 'the ,senior, division at the. Canadian chanÎfflon- ships and were enraged by the decision. Whitby orgamizers were also displeased'with the decision with both the. selection lof the team and the manner it was made. "As titre. timeCanadian cham- pions, our' girls should go," says Jenson. But it is unlikely Whitby wil go due -to the fact that they were only junior- and not senior champions, says Jenson. "Precision la sucit a little known sport and the public deserves the best,"' she says. Both organizers from Laval and Whitby sent letters to Otto Jelinek, Minister of Amateur Sports and Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and began looking for support from local MIP's and from: the Canadian Figure Skating Association, CFSA. Lavali fou nd support from the CFSA and many local politicians, however, Whitby was not as lucky with little interest from major media sources or the government, says Jenson, Laval orÉanlizer§ý-held a-à 'pres conference on Monday, Jan. il to let the public know how "unfair" the selection was. Both teams don't want to replace the. original selectedteazns, only be. added to the prograni, says Jenson. Wbitby la already scheduled to skate at Nathan Phullipa Square for a pre-Olympie celebration. Organizers hope the publie~ will receive the performance as well as' the people in Oshawa dld last year. Rin gette tourn ey- The Wbitby Optimist nintit an- nual ringette tournament will- take place at Iroquois Mrena from Jan. 22 to24. Twenty-four teanis fromn cities such as Ottawa and Northt Bay will' compete in the tournament.' Opening ceremonies wiIl take place on pad one at Iroquols Park on Saturday. Jan. 22, beglnnling at. florn.